Supporting coil with s-shaped end



E. J. WINKLER ETAL 3 292,92l

SUPPORTING COIL WITH S-SHAPED END 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec.- 20, 1966 Filed Aug. 28, 1964 /7 i H!" r 2/- 2 United States Patent 3,292,921 SUPPORTING COIL WITH S-SHAPED END Edward J. Winkler, Dallas, Tex., and Erich H. Schutz, Detroit, Mich., assignors to American Metal Products Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Aug. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 392,865 9 Claims. (Cl. 267--110) This invention relates to coil springs and particularly to a coil spring having rigid connection to the end of a sinuous spring strip which is supported thereby.

The sinuous spring strip is made of wire bent back and forth into sinuous form having oppositely presenting loops joined by straight portions. The load supported by the strips is resisted by the twisting of the straight portion rather than in the stretching or shortening of the length of the spring strips. Attempts have been made heretofore to support the ends of the spring strips by coil springs attached thereto in pivotal relation or to a bar secured in extension of an end of the strip.

In practicing the present invention, the coil spring has a laterally extending portion at one end which is engaged by a clip secured to a frame member. The opposite end of the coil spring has an extending arm and a laterally disposed securing portion thereon which is attached to the straight portion of the strip next to the end portion which rests upon the arm and secures the coil spring in rigid extension of the spring strip. The downward deflection of the end of the spring strip will cause the coil spring to expand and permit the end to deflect so as to produce a proper contour and a desired softness at the end of the spring strip. It will be apparent that the spring strip will have a hard end when the end is secured to a frame and is not permitted to deflect relative thereto. The lateral extension of the arm may be an S-shaped coil which hooks over the next to the last straight portion of the strip or the extension may be secured thereto by a band in the conventional manner. It is within the purview of the invention to have the coil formed on the end of the'spring strip so as to be in extension thereof to permit the deflection of the strip end.

Accordingly, the main objects of the invention are: to provide a coil spring with oppositely disposed attaching arms which have laterally disposed securing portions which are secured to the frame and to the end of the spring strip; to provide a coil spring with attachable means by which it is secured to a frame and by an extending arm having a laterally disposed securing end which is secured to the next adjacent straight portion of a sinuous spring strip with the endrnost straight portion resting upon the arm; to form acoil spring on the end of a sinuous spring strip with an attaching end by which it issecured to a frame member, and in general to provide a supporting coil for the end of a sinuous spring strip having arms which are rigidly attached to the end of the spring strip and to a frame and which is simple in construction and economical in manufacture.

Other objects and features of novelty of the invention will be specifically pointed out or will become apparent when referring for a better understanding of the invention, to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a seat cushion having supporting springs embodying features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1, taken on the line 2-2 thereof;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged broken plan view of one end of the spring strip as viewed within the circle 3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view of structure similar to that illustrated in FIG. 3 showing another form of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a view of structure similar to that illustrated in FIG. 4 showing another form of the invention, and

FIG. 6 is a view of structure similar to that illustrated in FIG. 3, showing still another form of the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a frame 10 supports a plurality of sinuous spring strips 11 thereacross by the use of supporting coil springs 12, which are herein illustrated as being applied to both ends of the spring strips. It is to be understood that either the front or back end of the frame may have the adjacent end of the sinuous spring strip directly attached thereto with the other end supported by the supporting coil spring 12. The sinuous spring strips are interconnected by wire elements 13 and the sidemost spring strips are connected to the side frame elements by coil springs 14 which engage a loop of the strips and are secured to the frame elements by clips or by an end which is driven thereinto.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the sinuous spring strips are formed of oppositely disposed loops 15 and 16 which are joined by straight portions 17. The endrnost straight portion 18 can be attached to a frame member 19 of the frame 10 by a clip 21. In FIG. 3, the end 18 is illustrated as being connected to the frame member 19 by the supporting coil spring 12 which has a plurality of turns 22 and angularly extending arms 23 and 24 at opposite ends and opposite sides. The arm 23 has a laterally extending end portion 25 which is secured by the clip 21 and locked therein by a bent end 26. The arm 24 has an S-shaped coil 27 laterally disposed on the end thereof extending in the opposite direction to the direction of the end portion 25 of the arm 23. This centers the coil portions 22 of the supporting spring 12 relative to the center line of the spring strip 11. The S-shaped coil 27 snaps over the straight portions 17 next adjacent to the end portion 18 with the end portion resting on the top of the arm 24 to rigidly connect the supporting spring 12 to the end portion of the sinuous spring strip 11. The hardness which is felt at the end of the spring strip 11 when the end 18 is supported directly by the clip 21 is substantially softened by the use of the supporting spring 12 which permits the end portion to deflect under load thereby providing greater comfort to the resulting seat cushion.

In FIG. 4, another form of supporting spring 31 is illus trated that wherein the arm 24 has a straight portion 32 containing an angular end portion 33 with the portion 32 clamped to the straight portion 17 by a clamping band 34. The end of the arm 24 extends over the top of the straight portion 17 and under the straight portion 18 to thereby rigidly support the endrnost loop of the sinuous spring strip 11 in extension of the spring 31. The spring strip is retained against tilting by the location of the arm 23 resting on top of the frame member 19 when secured thereto by the clip 21. It is to be understood that the clip may be located to have the loop end extend beyond the inner face of the frame member 19 to permit the pivoting of the arm 23 when a greater deflection is desired at the end of the sinuous spring strip.

In FIG. 5, a still further form of the invention is illustrated that wherein a supporting coil 36 is wound directly onto the end 18 of the sinuous spring strip 37 with the arm 23 extending from the end of the coil and supporting the end portion 25 which is secured by the clip 21 to the frame member 19. The coil is rigidly connected to the end of the sinuous spring strip in the same manner as that resulting from the use of the arm 25 and the laterally extending portion thereon.

In FIG. 6, a still further form of the invention is illustrated that wherein the supporting spring 39 has the arm 24 thereon reversely bent in a V-shaped portion 41 with a forwardly extending hook portion 42. The V-shaped portion 41 hooks over or under the straight portion 17 next adjacent to the end portion 18 of the spring strip 11 to be rigid therewith when the end portion 18 rests upon the arm 24. Where the requirement of a coil on the end of the sinuous spring strip is substantial, the coil 36 is wound directly on the end of the sinuous spring strip as illustrated in FIG. 5. However, when small quantities of sinuous spring strips are to be supported by the coil springs, the separate supporting coils 12, 31 and 39 as illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4 and 6 are provided to support the end of the sinuous spring strip in the same manner as if they had been directly coiled thereon, as illustrated in FIG. 5.

What is claimed is:

1. In a cushion, a frame, at least one sinuous spring strip formed of wire bent back and forth to provide oppositely facing loops joined by straight portions, means for attaching a first end of said spring strip to said frame, a supporting coil spring disposed at the second end of said spring strip with the coils thereof extending about and along the longitudinal axis thereof, said longitudinal axis of said coil spring being parallel to the plane of said second end of said spring strip, said coil spring including integral arms extending from the respective ends thereof, one of said arms fixedly secured to said second end of said spring strip 50 that said coil spring is a rigid extension of said spring strip, and means attaching the other of said arms to said frame.

2. In a cushion, a frame, a plurality of sinuous spring strips comprising wire bent back and forth to define oppositely facing loops joined by straight portions, and means attaching the ends of said spring strips to said frame and including a coil spring disposed at least at one end of each of said spring strips, each of said coil springs having a longitudinal axis disposed substantially in the plane of one end of the adjacent spring strip and including a first integral arm extending from one end thereof and rigidly attached to one end of the adjacent spring strip for preventing relative pivotal movement between the spring strips and the respective coil springs when said one end of said spring strips is moved in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of said coil springs and a second integral arm extending from the other end of the coil spring and attached to said frame.

3. In a cushion, a frame, a plurality of sinuous spring strips comprising wire bent back and forth to define oppositely facing loops joined by straight portions, and means attaching the ends of said spring strips to said frame and including a coil spring disposed at least at one end of each of said spring strips with the longitudinal axis thereof being parallel to the plane of the end of the adjacent spring strip, each of said coil springs including arms integral therewith and extending from opposite ends thereof, one of said arms being secured to said frame and the other of said arms being fixedly secured to said one end of one of said spring strips so that a moment is applied to said coil springs tending to curve said coil springs along the longitudinal axes thereof upon movement of said spring strips.

4. In a cushion as set forth in claim 3 wherein said other arm is fixedly secured to said one end of one of said spring strips by being formed integrally therewith.

5. In a cushion, a frame, a plurality of sinuous spring strips comprising wire bent back and forth to define oppositely facing loops joined by straight'portions, means attaching the ends of said spring strips to said frame and including a coil spring disposed at least at one end of each of said spring strips, each of said coil springs includ-. ing first and second integral arms extending from opposite ends thereof, said first arm being attached to said frame and said second arm being secured to the next adjacent straight portion from the end straight portion of a spring strip, said end straight portion being disposed to rest upon the top of said second arm so that a moment may be transmitted from the spring strips to the coil springs which tends to curve the coil springs along the,

longitudinal axes thereof.

6. In a cushion as set forth in claim 5 wherein said second arm is secured to said next adjacent straight porvide a plurality of turns, first and second arms extending from the respective end turns, each of said arms including an integral portion extending substantially transversely to the longitudinal axis of said coil spring, one of said integral portions being formed in an S-shape adapted to be secured to a straight portion of wire.

9. In a coil spring construction, a wire coiled to provide a plurality of turns with arms extending from the end turns at opposite sides of the turn, and end portions extending in opposite direction on the arms in parallel relation to each other, at least one of said extending portions on the end of the arms having an end section bent at an angle.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,133,747 10/1938 Hunter 267-112 X 2,250,486 7/1941 Kronheim 267-1 2,835,316 5/1958 Neely 267- X r 2,864,434 12/1958 Flint 267-107 X 2,973,805 3/ 1961 Rowan 267-1 3,098,646 7/ 1963 Kuabusch et a1 267-112 3,127,159 3/1964 Caughey 267-110 3,210,064 10/1965 Crosby 267-112 X ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A CUSHION, A FRAME, AT LEAST ONE SINUOUS SPRING STRIP FORMED OF WIRE BENT BACK AND FORTH TO PROVIDE OPPOSITELY FACING LOOPS JOINED BY STRAIGHT PORTIONS, MEANS FOR ATTACHING A FIRST END OF SAID SPRING STRIP TO SAID FRAME, A SUPPORTING COIL SPRING DISPOSED AT THE SECOND END OF SAID SPRING STRIP WITH THE COILS THEREOF EXTENDING ABOUT AND ALONG THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS THEREOF, SAID LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID COIL SPRING BEING PARALLEL TO THE PLANE OF SAID SECOND END OF SAID SPRING STRIP, SAID COIL SPRING INCLUDING INTEGRAL ARMS EXTENDING FROM THE RESPECTIVE ENDS THEREOF, ONE OF SAID ARMS FIXEDLY SECURED TO SAID SECOND END OF SAID SPRING STRIP SO THAT SAID COIL SPRING IS A RIGID EXTENSION OF SAID SPRING STRIP, AND MEANS ATTACHING THE OTHER OF SAID ARMS TO SAID FRAME. 